Well, perhaps “interview” isn’t the right word, because our chat didn’t involve the usual “book interview” questions about Robin‘s background or even her book. Maybe a better way to describe it would be “me just being with Robin, and happening to record it.”

I’m glad we did it that way, because it was a fun, spontaneous and adventuresome experience — much like what I imagine being with Robin is like most of the time.

What I really got about Robin during our talk was that, no matter what she’s doing, she comes to it with a sense of awe. Yes, she wrote this wonderful book about living in the jungle and all, but she doesn’t need to be in the jungle to experience life as a thrilling exploration.

One of the many things Robin has to teach us, just with her way of being, is that finding joy in life isn’t necessarily about finding the “right” activity to do — the right people to be with, the right country to visit, or something like that. Sometimes, it’s just about the attitude we bring to our experiences, which I think for her is an attitude of curiosity and wonder.

The “Ordinary” Doesn’t Really Exist

From time to time, I think we all get caught up in what we see as a routine, where everything seems safe and predictable. Maybe we go to work, go home, hang out with the kids, watch a video or something, and repeat.

But in an important way, our routine is an illusion. Yes, we might have a schedule detailing everything we’ll do today, but in reality we never really know what’s going to happen. Maybe we’ll make a new friend, get into an accident, take in the bluest sky we’ve ever seen, or something else.

Recognizing how little we know for sure about life — how uncertain we really are about what’s coming next – can be frightening. But when we stop fearing and resisting that uncertainty, it can be a liberating experience, because we realize the uncertainty is what makes life interesting.

My sense is that, at some point, Robin grasped this, spontaneously and deeply — not just as a concept in the mind, but on a level that permanently changed her way of seeing the world. I suspect you’ll get a taste of this way of seeing just by listening to our conversation.